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LatinNews Daily - 22 March 2018

US raises concerns about anti-corruption efforts in Honduras

Development: On 21 March the US embassy in the Honduras expressed concerns about “recent actions counter to the anti-corruption work in Honduras”.

Significance: The US embassy’s statement follows concerns raised by other sectors in response to an appeal admitted by the constitutional chamber of Honduras’s supreme court (CSJ) earlier this week against the Organization of American States (OAS)-sponsored Mission for Support against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (Maccih). It also comes amid other doubts regarding the commitment by the Partido Nacional (PN) government led by President Juan Orlando Hernández to anti-corruption efforts.

  • The CSJ constitutional chamber’s 20 March ruling was in response to an appeal filed earlier this year by five former deputies accused of syphoning off public funds for their personal use. The case, which made headlines in December 2017 (and has since been shelved by a judge prompting public outcry), was trumpeted as the first fruit of collaboration between Maccih, which began operations in April 2016, and the new special unit against corruption and impunity (Ufecic), an elite unit attached to the attorney general’s office (AG) which began work in September 2017.
  • The appeal accepted by the CSJ constitutional chamber accused Maccih of overstepping its mandate after it called for the arrest of the former deputies last year. It also argues that former Maccih head Juan Jiménez Mayor (who stepped down last month citing differences with OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro and a lack of support from the OAS) defamed them, violating the principle of innocent until proven guilty, depriving them of a fair trial.
  • In its statement the US embassy highlighted that the anti-corruption work in Honduras “is a fundamental element of US support in the region.... We remain dedicated to assisting the MACCIH, CAN [national anti-corruption council], Ministerio Publico [AG], and other organizations fighting corruption and impunity”.
  • Local civil-society groups have echoed the US’s concerns. In a press release yesterday, Asociación para una Sociedad más Justa (ASJ), the local chapter of international anti-corruption NGO Transparency International (TI), warned that the constitutional chamber’s decision to accept the appeal signalled a setback in the fight against corruption in Honduras.
  • The ASJ and Maccih have also signalled concerns regarding reforms approved by the national congress yesterday to an asset seizure bill that would ban the government from seizing the assets of anyone accused of embezzling state funds. In one concession to those concerned about the impact on impunity, the legislative bill was amended so that it won’t be retroactive.

Looking Ahead: President Hernández has said that he will analyse the approved changes to the asset seizure bill before deciding whether to promulgate it.

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